Honestly, the Jurassic franchise is a bit like a T-Rex that won’t stay in its paddock. Just when you think it’s finally gone extinct after a rough outing, it roars back with a new lead and a director who actually knows how to frame a scale-defying monster. Jurassic World Rebirth hit theaters in July 2025, and ever since, the internet has been arguing about whether it’s a masterpiece or just another CGI-heavy retread.
If you’re looking for the short version of the ratings for Jurassic World Rebirth, here it is: the critics were "meh," but the fans showed up.
It’s a classic divide. You’ve got the high-brow reviewers looking for deep philosophical ruminations on man’s hubris, and then you’ve got the rest of us who just want to see a Quetzalcoatlus wreck a helicopter. The movie currently sits with a critic score hovering around 51-57% on Rotten Tomatoes, while the audience score—the "Popcornmeter"—tells a much happier story at 73%.
The Official Age Rating: Is It Too Scary for Kids?
Before we talk about the quality, let’s talk about the "can I take my seven-year-old" factor. The MPAA gave this one a PG-13 rating.
That’s standard for this series. But don't let the rating fool you into thinking it's a walk in the park. This time around, Gareth Edwards—the guy who gave us the gritty Godzilla (2014)—is behind the camera. The official reason for the rating includes "intense sequences of violence/action, bloody images, and language."
There's even a random drug reference. One. Basically, someone mentions weed once and the MPAA lost their minds.
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But the violence is the real kicker. People get eaten. Often. There's a scene involving a raft and a sleeping Rex—lifted straight from Michael Crichton’s original novel—that is genuinely nerve-wracking. Unlike the Dominion era, where it felt like everyone had "plot armor" thicker than an Ankylosaurus shell, Rebirth feels dangerous. There are "bloody images" in the rating description for a reason; it doesn't shy away from the aftermath of a dino-human encounter.
Why the Critics Are Split
So, why the 51%?
Most critics, like those at IGN or The AV Club, felt the movie was a "brand correction" rather than a fresh start. They liked the technical side. They praised the cinematography. But they felt the script, written by David Koepp (who actually wrote the original 1993 film), was a bit... thin.
- The Pacing: It’s 134 minutes long. Some reviewers felt the middle section, where Scarlett Johansson’s team is trekking through the jungle to find "miracle DNA," dragged.
- The Dialogue: Jonathan Bailey’s character reportedly can’t stop talking about Altoids. It’s supposed to be a quirk, but for some, it was just grating.
- The "Same-ness": Seven movies in, it's hard to make a T-Rex roar feel "new."
On the flip side, the Associated Press was way more positive. They claimed the movie finally recaptured the "magic" of the original 1993 blockbuster. They loved the focus on survival over world-ending locust plots. Honestly, if you hated the locusts in the last movie, you’ll probably find these ratings a bit unfair because Rebirth is 100% focused on the dinosaurs again.
Box Office vs. Quality
You can’t talk about ratings for Jurassic World Rebirth without looking at the money. Usually, a 51% score kills a movie. Not here.
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The film opened over the July 4th weekend and absolutely smashed expectations. It pulled in over $141 million domestically in its first five days. That's a record for an Independence Day opening in the post-pandemic era.
Worldwide? It’s sitting near $900 million.
People clearly didn't care about the "Rotten" label. They wanted to see Scarlett Johansson play Zora Bennett, a covert ops expert hunting the three biggest creatures on the planet. The star power of Johansson, Mahershala Ali, and Jonathan Bailey was enough to overcome a lukewarm reception from the guys in turtlenecks writing for film journals.
Comparing Scores Across the Franchise
To get a real sense of where this lands, you have to look at the "CinemaScore." This is the grade audiences give the movie right after they walk out of the theater.
- Jurassic Park (1993): A
- Jurassic World (2015): A
- Jurassic World Dominion (2022): A-
- Jurassic World Rebirth (2025): B
A "B" is actually pretty low for a major blockbuster. It suggests that while people liked the spectacle, they might have walked out feeling a little underwhelmed by the story or the ending. It’s the same score The Lost World got back in the day, and that movie is a cult classic now.
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What You Should Know Before Watching
If you're heading in, just know that this is a "soft reboot." You don't need to have watched the Netflix animated shows or even the Chris Pratt movies to understand what's happening. It takes place five years after Dominion. The world’s ecology has turned toxic for dinosaurs, so they’re all huddled in "equatorial environments."
It’s basically a treasure hunt movie with teeth.
The cinematography is the standout. Gareth Edwards uses a lot of "human-scale" shots. Instead of seeing the dinosaur from a drone's perspective, you see it from the perspective of a terrified person hiding behind a tree. It makes the scale feel massive again.
The Final Verdict on Ratings
The ratings for Jurassic World Rebirth suggest a movie that is technically brilliant but narratively safe.
If you want a movie that changes the world, this isn't it. But if you want to see a Quetzalcoatlus nest raid that makes your palms sweat, the audience ratings are probably the ones you should trust.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Check the screen size: This movie was filmed for IMAX and large formats. If your local theater has a Dolby Cinema or IMAX screen, the "visual" rating of this movie jumps from a 7 to a 10.
- Watch with older kids: Due to the "bloody images" and intense jump scares, it's better for the 11+ crowd than the toddlers.
- Focus on the "Big Three": Keep an eye out for the three specific dinosaurs the team is hunting—one land, one sea, and one air. They are the centerpiece of the film's best action sequences.